Electronic modules for high-speed telecommunication and networking applications are typically housed in an electronics cabinet. The electronic modules may each contain, for example, various high-speed application cards, switching cards, network access servers, and ingress and egress cards. A vertically oriented rack is positioned within the cabinet, and the electronic modules are fastened to the rack. The electronic modules are positioned one on top of the other in a vertically oriented configuration.
Power is typically routed to the cabinet via input power cables that enter the cabinet from above. The input power cables may, however, introduce unwanted noise and other transients into the cabinet, which may have an adverse effect on the various electronic components housed within the cabinet. To overcome this problem, power line filters (i.e., RFI Filters) are mounted along the top wall of the cabinet to provide filtered power to the electronic modules within the cabinet.
When power is introduced into the cabinet from above, the input power cables are attached directly to the input terminals of the filters. The filters are in turn connected to a power distribution panel or breaker panel, which is mounted within the cabinet. Filtered power is then delivered from the power distribution panel to the various electronic modules within the cabinet.
A large number of cables are typically required to deliver power from the distribution panel to the plurality of electronic modules within the cabinet. Each of these cables is typically hardwired at the distribution panel and at the electronic modules. The disadvantage of this arrangement is that the removal of one or more of the electronic modules from the cabinet may disturb the surrounding electronic modules due to the removal or rerouting of cables to and from the distribution panel. In addition, the removal or rerouting of cables is a labor-intensive process. Similarly, the removal and replacement of the distribution panel is also a labor-intensive process due to the large number of hardwired connections at the panel and at the various electronic modules within the cabinet. Moreover, the large number of cables occupies a considerable amount of space in the cabinet, which typically has strict dimensional requirements. They also block airflow through the cabinet, which may result in the overheating of the electronic components in the various electronic chassis. The large number of cables may also results in the generation of significant amounts of electromagnetic interference.
Oftentimes electronics cabinets are positioned on a raised computer floor, and the input power cables must be routed into the cabinet through the bottom wall of the cabinet. However, in order to filter the input power, the input power cables typically have to be routed up through the cabinet so that they exit through the top wall of the cabinet for connection to the filters. These additional cables also require a large amount of space within the cabinet, and further complicate the cable routing process within the cabinet. Also, these additional cables may also result in increased levels of electromagnetic interference within the cabinet.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to have a system and method of distributing power to a plurality of electronic modules housed within an electronics cabinet that overcomes the problems described above.